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World and Locales
The setting of Ferrus: Commissar Ferrus takes place in the Milky Way galaxy, covering the period between 2100 AD to 2700 AD, with the title Commissar taking place in the year 2451, in the closing years of the Federal-Alliance war - a 50 year long conflict - and a mere 5 years before the cataclysmic Second Drudge Incursion. At this time, the galaxy is divided between a turbulent Federation, and a severely weakened Alliance as both have now put themselves in a position of mutually assured destruction, having occupied key worlds and star systems that, if somehow maligned, would surely cause the other to collapse. This has led to an uneasy, unofficial truce, with only small border skirmishes igniting on disparate planets. In the 'galactic east' lies a small empire: the Moritamor Conglomerate. Opportunistic and unscathed by decades of warfare, they have been making subtle attempts to cause revolts among the two galactic super powers, in an effort to grow their own territory via shrewd diplomacy and subterfuge. This sets the stage in the sector of space in which Commissar takes place, Tau-Ceti, on the far fringes of Federal space. At the start of the game, Tau-Ceti is in the grips of a boiling civil war; the people of Industrial World Taurus IV have become divided between pro- and anti-Federation forces, both sides taking up vigilante justice and creating militia groups in the absence of a Federal garrisson. This has caused shipments from Mining Station K-9 to halt, and is as a result facing its own troubles. This has left the rest of the sector watching nervously, as the Federation is unable to conduct any military operations after having its forces stretched thin in an effort to deal with unrest and Alliance forces elsewhere. The Federal Commissariat, and the Commissar The Federal Commissariat is a special organisation with the mandate to ensure loyalty and adherence to the Federation's "Humanity United" directive, stating that only by cooperating and staying together will they be able to withstand the worst of the galaxy; its mandate carries a heavy weight, as the Commissariat was established in the early 23rd century at the time of the First Drudge Incursion and the Discovery of the Sleepers, being considered responsible for staving off humanities extinction. It is often said that the Commissariat is how the Federation began, as it was through the agents and forces united under its banner that the many separatist human colonies were brought back into the fold of Earth's administration following the collapse of the United Colonial Alliance. Through this forceful and unpleasant unification, humanity was directed into a bulwark against the much superior Drudge, being able to even mount a counter-attack which led the Sleepers to join the galaxy-spanning war largely on the side of the Federation, with a few Fortress Worlds joining the Alliance's predecessor instead. As such, the Commissar fills an esteemed role - but not one which is broadcasted. Modern Commissars will often act independently and in secret, functioning more as the administration's own assassins, despite technically being above the administration in terms of authority. Our commissar, the player character, starts off in the Federal Command Station oribiting Tau I, a blue giant. They are given a civilian freighter, with a fake identification and backstory with two orders: to investigate the rebellion on Taurus IV, and to discover the intentions of the Conglomerate's scouts in the far region of this sector, on Ceti V. Locales The locales below are described in order as the player would (story wise) progress through them, but as per the Exploration page, the player may visit them in any order. 1. Federal Command Station The FCS orbits the star Tau I, not far from a Highway Gate connecting the sector to Orion. It functions as the player's home base, and tutorial section. Here, the player is taught vital gameplay mechanics, and given ways to repeat lessons if they wish. In addition, it houses a few minigames based around sharpening the player's skills. This is also where the player can, if they wish, get additional lore regarding the Federation and its history. Finally, the FCS also allows the player to take on additional quests sponsored by the Federal Armed Forces. 2. Industrial World Taurus IV Orbiting the star Tau XIII, the oddly named Taurus IV is a massive industrial world - a super Earth - responsible for manufacturing the sector's goods, from industrial machinery to household appliances, with a section of the planet zoned off for military factories which produce battlesuits, tanks and artillery for the Federal Armed Forces. Here the player can opt to follow the quest lines of three different factions: *the Free Taurus Movement *the Federal Loyalists *the Machinist Local Government It is also where the player can purchase upgrades for their starship, and take on quests sponsored by any of the three factions. In story terms, Taurus IV is the epicenter of the conflict, and the player's actions here will define whether the sector descends into total war or not. 3. Mining Station K-9 Built into a series of loosely connected asteroids, K-9 is the main supplier of different raw minerals for the sector. As such, it is one of the most heavily defended zones, with regular Federal Navy escort groups patrolling the primary Trade Lanes and the vicinity of the base, which is itself surrounded by weapon's installations, not to mention a small contingent of Federal Marines and combat mechs patrolling the station itself. Here, the player can take on quests from: *the Federal Armed Forces *the Earth Administration and can use the Federation's extensive combat facilities for Advanced Training, including Battlesuit Piloting. 4. Ceti V A frozen world where the Moritamor Conglomerate have set up a base, Ceti V is the last story location in the game and revolves around the player fighting through small groups of elite soldiers as they set out on the final stage of the story quest - or if the player chose to defect, is where they make a stand against other Commissariat members sent to hunt you down. There are no side quests here, only story missions with optional objectives. If the player comes here before the other main story quests have been completed, they may initiate the third ending, and the planets description given will only detail it as being a reconnaissance mission, whereas if the player follows the story it will be marked as an extermination mission. 5. Agri World A-64 This is technically a non-story location, which is why it is at the bottom. The Tau II Research Orbital is a side quest location. More to be added later. 6. Hab World Taurus VIII This is technically a non-story location, which is why it is at the bottom. The Tau II Research Orbital is a side quest location. More to be added later. 7. Tau II Research Orbital This is technically a non-story location, which is why it is at the bottom. The Tau II Research Orbital is a side quest location. More to be added later.